It is very difficult to deal with the reality of acceptance whilst easy to talk about it. Pain sufferers find it very challenging that they cannot any longer manage an important ability they feel they should perform with ease. People with a chronic pain disability show no outward signs of their restrictions and others treat them as normal, expecting them to be able to do things normally too. Coping with the loss of usual functioning is difficult as can be the attitudes and beliefs of other people towards pain conditions. However, the conflict which exists cannot usefully be continued and sufferers benefit from working on acceptance of the situation.
There are many examples of how we must accept the present situation and the reality of how we are. Making changes to our ways of doing things can be a very useful strategy to move us closer to our desired goals. Often however people get stuck with a particular situation and have no other choices than acceptance or conflict. There are undesirable effects from fighting against the pain and we can release ourselves from the conflict by developing our ability to accept parts of our present state. We can then finally start to apply positive strategies to our problems and increase our chances of a good result.
If the reality of the situation is not recognised then the conflict continues and along with that we are unable to pursue suggested alternatives. No-one will see why they should change the way they do things or accept poorer standards if they don't want to give in to the pain or feel responsible for doing things for others. These feelings can obstruct the way forward towards making suitable alterations and so impede the progress which could be made. By accepting the situation to a degree by saying The present situation is my reality and I have to start from this point change can start.
We all have internal scripts which we have constructed to describe what we want to do and what we feel we are able to. These are typically not conscious but are often quite specific descriptions of what we think is going on. A good script to be able to say would be I am well and fit and able to do all the things I need to and want to in my life. However, a person with low back pain or a disabling pain syndrome would be unable to say this and their internal words might be closer to I am stuck with this pain problem for ever and it's going to stop me doing pretty much everything. This would be quite a resigned interpretation and would have repercussions.
A negative automatic thought can repeatedly go round and round in our minds, and is one of the ways we can become depressed. New scripts can be deliberately written to replace the ones which typically recur naturally and cause negative feelings. We could say My pain condition does limit my activities to a degree but if I realistically manage and plan my life I can do most of the things that I wish to. This is a more realistic approach as situations are rarely entirely negative, allowing us to avail ourselves of the opportunities which might present themselves to try new avenues of changing for the better.
A realistic script is not the same as a positive one, although there may be positive aspects to it, and should definitely not be rose-tinted unless certain disappointment is to be expected once reality intrudes. However, the more positive and practical view enables people to join in in the assessment and management of their pain, being able to take better advantage of any advice and help from a health professional.
We are more likely to choose adaptive solutions to our problems if we have our assessment of our situation close to the objective reality which others see. We can then stop the continually stressful pushing ourselves and ease off the pressure to some extent.
There are many examples of how we must accept the present situation and the reality of how we are. Making changes to our ways of doing things can be a very useful strategy to move us closer to our desired goals. Often however people get stuck with a particular situation and have no other choices than acceptance or conflict. There are undesirable effects from fighting against the pain and we can release ourselves from the conflict by developing our ability to accept parts of our present state. We can then finally start to apply positive strategies to our problems and increase our chances of a good result.
If the reality of the situation is not recognised then the conflict continues and along with that we are unable to pursue suggested alternatives. No-one will see why they should change the way they do things or accept poorer standards if they don't want to give in to the pain or feel responsible for doing things for others. These feelings can obstruct the way forward towards making suitable alterations and so impede the progress which could be made. By accepting the situation to a degree by saying The present situation is my reality and I have to start from this point change can start.
We all have internal scripts which we have constructed to describe what we want to do and what we feel we are able to. These are typically not conscious but are often quite specific descriptions of what we think is going on. A good script to be able to say would be I am well and fit and able to do all the things I need to and want to in my life. However, a person with low back pain or a disabling pain syndrome would be unable to say this and their internal words might be closer to I am stuck with this pain problem for ever and it's going to stop me doing pretty much everything. This would be quite a resigned interpretation and would have repercussions.
A negative automatic thought can repeatedly go round and round in our minds, and is one of the ways we can become depressed. New scripts can be deliberately written to replace the ones which typically recur naturally and cause negative feelings. We could say My pain condition does limit my activities to a degree but if I realistically manage and plan my life I can do most of the things that I wish to. This is a more realistic approach as situations are rarely entirely negative, allowing us to avail ourselves of the opportunities which might present themselves to try new avenues of changing for the better.
A realistic script is not the same as a positive one, although there may be positive aspects to it, and should definitely not be rose-tinted unless certain disappointment is to be expected once reality intrudes. However, the more positive and practical view enables people to join in in the assessment and management of their pain, being able to take better advantage of any advice and help from a health professional.
We are more likely to choose adaptive solutions to our problems if we have our assessment of our situation close to the objective reality which others see. We can then stop the continually stressful pushing ourselves and ease off the pressure to some extent.
About the Author:
Jonathan Blood Smyth, editor of the Physiotherapy Site, writes articles about Physiotherapy, back pain, orthopaedic conditions, neck pain, injury management and physiotherapists in Edinburgh. Jonathan is a superintendant physiotherapist at an NHS hospital in the South-West of the UK.
No comments:
Post a Comment